"Traces of Forced Labour" Campaign
The Nazi Forced Labour Documentation Centre in Schöneweide has launched a campaign to inform people about the history and dimension of Nazi forced labour. During the Second World War, about 26 million people had to work involuntarily for the Nazi state. The largest group was made up of the approximately 8.4 million civilian workers deported to the then German Reich - men, women and children from the occupied territories of Europe. They were joined by prisoners of war, concentration camp inmates, Jews, Roma and Sinti. The Nazi Forced Labour Documentation Centre has been providing information about this since 2006 at the historical site of an almost completely preserved forced labour camp.
The director of the Documentation Centre, Dr. Christine Glauning, explains:
"It is our mission to make visible the long-hidden fate of the more than 26 million men, women and children. Our campaign comes at a time when coming to terms with the topic is gaining momentum, especially in Berlin: many local initiatives are committed to memorials. A "Round Table on Nazi Forced Labour" and an international scientific advisory board have been established. More and more companies are investigating their own past. All this gives me confidence, because we owe it not least to the victims and their relatives to ensure that their history is not forgotten."
The campaign uses advertisements, posters, postcards and social media communication to draw attention to the topic of Nazi forced labour and the documentation centre in Schöneweide. In total, there were around 30,000 such camps during the Second World War, around 3,000 of them in Berlin alone. Since 2013, the permanent exhibition in the Documentation Centre "Everyday Forced Labour 1938-1945" has presented the history of forced labour as an omnipresent mass phenomenon. In addition, visitors can find out more about this topic in special exhibitions, at events, in the archive and library, and actively engage with it as part of the diverse educational offerings.
Contact:
Juliane Grossmann
Nazi Forced Labour Documentation Centre
Tel: +49 30 6390 288 18
Fax: +49 306390 288 29
grossmann(at)topographie.de
Alexander Elbers
BEST FRIEND Agentur für Kommunikation GmbH
Tel: 030 847 122 88
Mobil: +49 (0)173 204 667 8
elbers(at)bestfriend.berlin